Harry falls two places to leave Oliver as the most popular boy’s name and
fictional names also make it on this year's list

His birth pushed Prince Harry one place down the line of royal succession and now the arrival of Prince George appears to have helped knock his uncle's name off the top of the nation’s most popular baby names.

The royal birth in July last year helped propel George into the top 10 baby names in the official annual rankings published by the Office for National Statistics.

William also edged up one place to eighth. But with three princes in the top 10, Harry slipped from the number one spot it occupied for the previous two years.

It fell two places to return Oliver to the top spot, as the most popular boy’s name in England and Wales in 2013, just ahead of Jack.

Amelia remains the most popular name for newborn girls, for the third year in a row, just ahead of Olivia and Emily.

The annual report, based on official birth registrations, shows British tastes appear to be going decidedly more upmarket with names such as Oscar, Hugo and Theodore surging up the rankings for boys.

Meanwhile a revival of traditional girl’s names continues apace with Elsie, Ivy and Violet increasingly fashionable while Britney and Chardonnay have almost disappeared.

The annual table, which is viewed as a barometer of social changes as much as fashion, shows the increasing popularity of Muslim names.

If the three most popular spellings for Mohammed are combined they would easily eclipse Oliver as the most popular boy’s name overall.

When the findings are divided by region Mohammed also emerges as the most popular boy’s name in the West Midlands while in London Muhammad was in the top spot.

Similarly Ibrahim, entered the top 100 boy’s names, for the first time, ranked 89th overall, jumping 18 places in a single year and 43 places in the last decade.

But royalty remains among the most potent influences on baby naming choices. The arrival of Prince George came in the second half of the year, suggesting that the name could rise further when the 2014 rankings are compiled.

Significantly, Victoria, which was among the bookmakers’ favourites for a baby princess in the weeks before Prince George’s arrival, jumped 18 places to number 88 in 2013, stemming a long-term decline in its popularity.

Another new entry in the girl’s top 100 was Darcy which climbed 14 places in 2013 to number 93. The rise is likely to be a reflection of the growing popularity of the ballerina Darcey Bussell after joining the panel of Strictly Come Dancing the previous year, despite the different spelling of her Christian name.

“There are a number of possible reasons why the popularity of baby names change over time,” the ONS explained in a commentary.

“The popularity of names can be influenced by names of famous figures or current celebrities and what they name their own babies.

“However, it can also be influenced by other factors such as the religious, cultural or ethnic identities of parents or the names of family, friends or fictional characters.”

The popularity of television shows such as Game of Thrones has also seen a revival of character names such as Theon and Tyrion.

But despite the popularity of names such as Oliver and Amelia, the top baby names account for only a relatively small percentage of those in use.

Of the 698,512 babies born in England and Wales last year, parents chose 27,000 different boy’s names and over 35,000 different girl’s names.

The impact of Britain’s box-set obsession can also be charted in baby names registrations.

The ONS pointed out that names from the US series Breaking Bad have grown in importance with 72 girls registered as Skyler – the name of the main female character - last year, a sevenfold increase in a single year. Similarly there were 58 boys christened Walter, a name chosen by only a handful of families a year throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.

Similarly names from the fantasy series Game of Thrones have begun to appear in birth registers with six girls called Tyrion last year and 11 boys named Theon.

And the film franchise Thor has also inspired some parents with names of characters such as Loki spiking in 2012.

But one of the most striking cultural references visible in the birth records is the appearance of the name Renesmee, which was invented by the author Stephenie Meyer for her Twilight books. Last year 18 girls were given the name which first appeared in 2010.

The pattern mirrors the growth of the name Wendy after the publication of Peter Pan in 1911, although there is some controversy over whether or not JM Barrie invented the name.

An analysis by the ONS also shows how influences from popular culture can wane as rapidly as they appear.

Last year there were only seven baby Britneys in England and Wales, a dramatic decline from the peak in 1999, the year after the release of Britney Spears’s “Baby one More Time”, when 314 girls were given the name. A similar pattern can be charted for the names Shakira and Rihanna.

Similarly only seven girls were named Chardonnay last year, down from more than 100 a decade earlier shortly after the programme Footballers’ Wives first appeared on British screens.

On a similar theme, a brief attempt to establish Champagne as a name appears to have lost its fizz.

Three baby girls were registered as Champagne in 2009 – the minimum number required to show up on statistics – but none since.

Kristen Stewart with Mackenzie Foy who plays her on screen daughter Renesmee